Leaving for OSUT soon, nervous...

October 16th, 2012, 11:59 AM

Hello everyone,

I come to you this morning a bit nervous. I leave for OSUT at Ft. Benning soon. I'm not worried about BCT or AIT... I'm nervous about leaving my wife and daughter. My baby just turned 5 months old on the 14th and I am crazy in love with her! I never knew children affected their parents this way!

Let me also say this; This does not mean I want to back out or that I do not want to deploy. I'm just a bit nervous, maybe a bit excited too. I'm looking for anyone who has been in the same situation to just tell me it's going to be ok. I know it's not a deployment, but it's the first time I'll be away from them for such a long stretch.

Yes, it is hard to say good-bye and initially; time will seem to drag. But once you get into the rhythm of things and you start having contact with your family on a more consistent basis; you will feel a little more at ease.

It is like a kid who never been away from home; you will get those feelings of homesickness and that is ok. You would not be human if you feel any less.

I am on my third deployment; been away at schools at months at a time; but with today's technology, you are much more closer than ever.

I been away from my young daughters for so long and so many birthdays (my daughters birthday is in November and I will miss it again for a second year in a row); I feel bad at times for not being there and I think about them everyday. It comes with the job.

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I'll be leaving my wife and daughter on November the 14th for 27 weeks worth of BCT & AIT. At the moment, I'm excited to begin my training, but I have the same concerns as you. My daughter is six years old, so my absence is going to have a big impact on her. I just have to keep in mind that part of the reason I am doing this is for them, and despite the difficulty of being away, it's only temporary. You are definitely not alone in your concern. Just be sure to take some pictures of your family with you to training and write lots of letters to them, and before you know it you'll be done!

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When I left for BCT it was really hard (wife and 3 kids). I knew it would be, and so it wasn't a surprise, but that didn't make it any less hard. My wife made some picture collages and laminated them, that way they stayed moisture proof while I went through Basic Training. Then she took a lot of random photos of the kids doing things and sent those every week. I made videos for the kids on their phones so they could "see" me telling them a little a message that they could play back as they wanted. It all helped to make it a little better.

Once you get into training (out of reception) then the time does go by quickly. Every day is filled with stuff to do and that makes time go by a little faster. Also, one thing that helped me is I kept a notebook in my camelback. So any "spare" time we had I would pull it out and write a letter to the wife and kids. I would write 2 or 3 pages and then send it, that way they got a letter or two a week from me (I can write fast and when I do I can write a lot). With that in mind, bring pre-stamped envelopes as well as extra stamps if you think you will write a lot.

It helps the spouses staying at home if you tell them about your day and what’s going on. Otherwise it is like you fell into a black hole and they have no idea what’s going on. At least for my wife, she looked forward to the letters because then she at least knew I was still OK. When you get to AIT it gets easier. You can Skype and talk to them on the phone a lot more.

Good luck in your training and if you have questions don't hesitate to ask.

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Leaving will always be hard, but just think about the reasons you joined (which I'm sure included that daughter you love). Think about how proud your wife and daughter will be of you when you come home a Soldier. If leaving your wife and kid was easy for you I would say you'd have bigger problems to worry about!

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I'm right there with you, man. I'm a single parent of two daughters (7 and 3) and that's probably one of the worst things I'm dealing with. They are staying with my parents and they understand the commitment, so they will be good with my girls. I'm sure my daughters will be fine. My father is retired military so I know how it feels from the other side of the fence! Like most things in life, this too shall pass. I'm sure before you know it you will be back home with your family!

Thanks so much gentleman, you're encouraging words are like music to my ears.

About AIT: You stated I may be able to phone home, etc. Is this possible with 11B AIT? I had heard it was basically an extension of basic. As in no phone calls etc...

Back in 1992 when I did OSUT as a 12B (Combat Engineer), I heard all along that Basic & AIT would be combined into one equally hellacious experience. As it turns out, there was some limited relaxing of rules and granting of additional freedoms during the last month Ė pending the performance and behavior of the training company (all us recruits). My guess is that if your group has its act together, you will see added liberties as well. The only caveat of course is that you will have some extended time in the field and from what I remember these are basically times of isolation from the outside world. Qualifier to my post: A LOT may have changed in the past 20 years, and as stated I was not 11B.

Good Luck to you and best wishes to your family.

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So, on the other side of the fence, I think kids tend to handle it pretty well. In my case they had a hard couple of days after I left, but after that they got into their routines with school and sports. To them it was just like I was gone on an extended business trip. Keeping kids busy doing little crafts of pictures and drawings and stuff helps them to focus on something and have fun sending you stuff. Though if your wife does send you stuff, make sure it is small to begin with, until you know how much personal storage space you have.